After suffering beneath a crippling pile of his own hair, a rescue cat is starting the New Year on a well-groomed foot and in a new home.

Sinbad, a Persian feline, underwent a remarkable transformation after his rescue last month from an elderly mans Chicago basement, where his neglected fur had become a tangled, matted, five-pound mess of filth.

A utilities worker recently contacted our humane investigation team and told them about a cat that was suffering from extreme neglect, the citys Anti-Cruelty Societyreported on Facebook late last month.His fur was horribly matted, unwashed, and covered in dirt and garbage. The basement he was living in was cold and filthy.

Photos shared on the nonprofits Facebook page show the cat dragging along piles of filthy hair, easily doubling the animals size.

He was an elderly man whose mental health was failing and he couldnt care for the cat, the shelters PR manager, Colette Bradley, told People magazine of Sinbads former owner.Our humane investigators asked him if he would be willing to relinquish the cat into our care and he agreed.

After two rounds of hair-cutting and a bath, vets were able to free Sinbad from his furry shackles. In a video posted to Facebook days later, the cat is seen playfully scampering around a cat tree.

We were a little concerned about his rear legs because he was having a hard time even using them because of the [hair], but at this point he is showing that hes very happy to be active and getting around, a man named Elliot, who didnt give his last name, said in the video.